Реферат: Life Lessons

To do what is right.

Then if it is real

Right justifies itself,

And if it is unreal

It does no harm to have

Some credit up in heaven

It may be useful on the day

That we awake and end the play,

(III, I, 165).

Here we learn that life is like a play and a dream; it is short

in comparison to eternity, and serves merely as practice for it.

As Christians, our belief in eternal life in heaven or hell is a

driving force in life that is fueled only by our faith with

absolutely no proof. Because Sigismund treats his new life in

faith that it is not a dream, he will reap the reward he so

desires. It is his fear of being re-imprisoned that parallels

the Christian fear of eternal damnation, both of which are held

in faith to be avoided.

Basilio teaches us through his own error; he thought he

could cheat fate, and when he thinks he cannot, he admits, I ran

away, and ran to what I ran from. I hid a thing, and hiding it I

found it (III, ii, 43). The lesson we gain from Basilio is that

we cannot escape fate, and by asserting that the only fate we

know is death, we realize our mortality and submit ourselves to a

higher order. We use our free will as a compass to guide us

through our life here on Earth and even though we know that we

will die, it is our actions in life that will determine where we

live eternally. Because the evolved Sigismund chooses to deny

himself revenge, he wins himself the crown, and in doing so